CBSE NCERT Class VIII (8th) | Social Studies | History

Chapter : Colonialism and the city- The story of an Imperial Capital

CBSE NCERT Solved Question Answer

Q1. Why did the port cities of Surat and Machlipatnam decline
by the late 18th Century?

Ans. In late 18th century Calcutta, Bombay and Madras new centre’s
of administration emerged.

Q2. Mention the presidency cities of the British in 18th century.

Ans. In late 18th century, Calcutta, Bombay and Madras this cities
were used for administrative purpose.

Q3. What is urbanization?

Ans. When more and more people begin to reside in towns and cities
leaving their villages, is called urbanization.

Q4. What is de – urbanization?

Ans. Earlier centres of regional power collapsed when local rulers
were defeated by the British and new centres of administration emerged. This process
is often described as de – urbanization.

Q5. When was Delhi established as the capital of British India?

Ans. The historic imperial city of Delhi became a dusty provincial
town in the 19th century before it was rebuilt as the capital of British India after
1912.

Q6. Why is the period from 1830 to 1857 known as the period
of Delhi renaissance?

·Literally, rebirth of art and learning. It is a term
often used to describe a time when there is great creative activity.

·Before 1857, developments in Delhi were somewhat
different from those in other colonial cities. In Madras, Bombay or Calcutta, the
living spaces if Indians and the British were sharply separated.

·Indians lived in the “black” areas while the British
lived in well-laid out “white” areas. In Delhi, especially in the first half of
the nineteenth century the British lived along with the wealthier Indians in the
walled city.

·The British learned to enjoy Urdu/ Persian culture
and poetry and participated in local festivals.

·The establishment of the Delhi College in 1792 led
to a great intellectual flowering in the sciences as well as humanities, largely
in the Urdu language.

·Many refer to the period from 1830 to 1857 as a period
of the Delhi renaissance.

Q7. How did the British change Delhi after the revolt
of 1857?

ØThe
British wanted Delhi to forget its Mughal past.

ØThe
area around the Fort was completely cleared of gardens, pavilions and mosques (though
temples were left intact).

ØThe
British wanted a clear ground for security reasons. Mosques in particular were either
destroyed or put to other uses.

ØFor
instance the Zinatal- Masjid was converted into a bakery. No worship was allowed
in the Jama Masjid for five years.

ØOne
–third of the city was demolished, and its canal was filled up. In the 1870s’, the
western walls of Shahjaha navab were broken to establish the railway and to allow
the city to expand beyond the walls.

ØThe
British now began living in the sprawling civil lines area that came up in the north,
away from the Indians in the walled city. The Delhi College was turned into a school,
and shut down in 1877.

Q8. Why the British did chose to hold a grand Darbar in Delhi
although it was not the capital?

ØOn
1877, Victory Lytton organized a Darbar to acknowledge Queen Victoria as the Empress
of India. Calcutta was still the capital of British India, but the grand Darbar
was being held in Delhi.

ØDuring
the revolt, the British had realised that the Mughal emperor was still important
to the people and they saw him as their leader.

ØIt
was therefore important to celebrate British pomp and show in the city the Mughal
emperors had earlier ruled, and the place which had turned into a rebel stronghold
in 1857.

Q9. How did the partition affect life of Delhi?

·The Partition of India in 1947 led to a massive transfer
of population on both sides of the new border. As a result, the population of Delhi
swelled, the kinds of jobs people did changed and the culture of the city because
different.

·Days after Indian independence and Partition, fierce
rioting began thousands of people in Delhi were killed and their homes looted
and burned. As streams of Muslims left Delhi for Pakistan, their place was taken
by equally large numbers of Sikh and Hindu refugees from Pakistan.

·Refugee roomed the streets of Shajahanabad, searching
for empty homes to occupy. At times they forced Muslims to leave or sell their properties.
Over two – third of the Delhi Muslims migrated almost 44,000 homes were abandoned.
Terrorised Muslims lived in makeshift camps till they could leave for Pakistan.

·At the same time, Delhi became a city of refugees.
Most of these migrants were from Punjab. They stayed in campus, schools, military
barracks and gardens, hoping to build new homes. Some got the opportunity to occupy
residences that had been vacated; others were housed in refugee colonies. New colonies
such as Lajpat Nagar and Tilak Nagar came up at this time. Shops and stalls were
set up to cater to the demands of the Mizrants; schools and colleges were also opened.

·The skills and occupations of the refugees were quite
different from those of the people they replaced.

·Many of the Muslims who went to Pakistan were artisans,
pitty traders and labourers.

·The new migrants coming to Delhi were rural landlords,
lawyers, teachers, traders and small shopkeepers. Partition changed their lives
and their occupations. They had to take up new jobs as hawkers, vendors’ carpenters
and ironsmiths. Many, however prospered in their new business.

Q10. How did old city of Delhi change under British rule?

ØNew
Delhi was constructed as a 10-square-mile city on Raisina Hill, south of the existing
city. Two architects, Edward Lutyens and Herbert Baker, were called on to design
New Delhi and its buildings.

ØThe
government complex in New Delhi consisted of a two-mile avenue, Kingsway (now Rajpath),
that led to the Viceroy’s Palace (now Rashtrapati Bhavan), with the Secretariat
buildings.

ØThe
features of these government buildings were borrowed from India’s imperial history,
but the overall look was Classical Greece (fifth century BCE).

ØFor
instance, the central dome of the Viceroy’s Palace was copied from the Buddhist
stupa at Sanchi, and the red sandstone and carved screens or jails were
borrowed from Mughal architecture. But the new buildings had to assert British importance:
that is why the architect made sure that the Viceroy’s Palace was higher than Shah
Jahan’s Jama Masjid.

Q11. What were the findings of the Census of 1931 about the
walled city of Delhi?

Ans. The census of 1931 revealed that the walled city area was
horribly crowded with as many as 90 persons per acre, while New Delhi had only about
3 persons per acre.

Q12. Mention the scheme that was started by British to improve
the conditions in the walled city?

ØIn
1888 an extension scheme called the lahore gate improvement scheme was planned by
Robert Clarke for the walled city residents.

ØThe
idea was to draw away from the old city to new type of market square, around which
shops would be built.

ØStreets
in this redevelopment strictly followed the grid pattern and were of adventitial
width, size and character.

ØLand
was divided into regular areas for the construction of neighborhood.

Q13. Mention the differences between Havelis and the Colonial
bungalows.

The Mughal aristocracy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
lived in grand mansions called Havelis made up of Muslim style.

ØHavelis
were built by nawabs or the subordinates of the kings.

ØHavelis,
which were large, walled compounds with mansions, courtyards and fountains. A Havelis
housed many families.

ØHavelis
were huge in height and had many stories meaning it were multi storied.

The Colonial bungalow was quite different from the Havelis.

ØMeant
for one nuclear family, it was a large single storied structure with a pitched roof,
and usually set in one or two acres of open ground.

ØIt
had separate living and dining rooms and bedrooms, and a wide veranda running in
the front, and sometimes on three sides.

ØKitchens,
stables and servants’ quarters were in a separate space from the main house. The
women of the household often sat on the verandas to supervise tailors or other tradesmen.

Q14. Explain the following terms:-

·Presidency:- For
administrative purpose, colonial India was
divided into three “Presidencies”. (Bombay, Madras and Bengal), which developed
from the East India Company’s factories” (trading posts) at Surat, Madras and Calcutta.

·Dargah:- The
tomb of a Sufi Saint.

·Khanqah:- A
sufi lodge, often used as a rest house for travelers and a place where people come
to discuss spiritual matters, get the blessings of saints, and hear sufi music.

·Idgah:- An
open prayer place of Muslims primarily meant for id prayers.

·Cul –de –Sac:-
Street with a dead end.

·Gulfaroshan:-
A festival of flowers.

·Renaissance:-
Literally, rebirth of art and learning. It is a term often used to describe
a time when there is great creative activity.